Many people are known to enjoy drawing, sketching, and doodling. In particular, young children are known to be fond of doodling, painting, and drawing pictures. Allowing a young child to draw has several benefits. First, drawing may provide an outlet for the child to be creative and imaginative. Second, young children are extremely active. When a child is given writing materials, the child may be occupied for several hours. Such activity is safe, inexpensive, and does not require keen attention of a supervising adult. Third, when presented with an image to reproduce, the child's curiosity is piqued, and the child becomes inquisitive of the subject matter drawn. For example, if a child is presented with an image of an airplane to draw, color, or trace, the child's mind is turned to the subject of airplanes. This situation may lead the child to ponder the subject of airplanes, the manner in which they fly, how they are constructed, and so forth. Thus, drawing is beneficial for the healthy mental development of the child.
When a very young child, such as a three- or four-year-old, attempts to draw, numerous difficulties are presented. First, young children are not as coordinated as adults, or even older children, and thus they are not able to create drawings as easily as others. Coloring books and similar media have long been known as potential solutions to this problem. However, it is often observed that young children are unable to keep their colorings within the figure boundaries provided. This situation may lead to frustration of the child, which may cause the child to abandon the drawing exercise.
Second, when a young child attempts to draw on a plain writing surface, such as paper, the child often becomes bored. This situation may lead to the child writing on inappropriate surfaces, such as walls and furniture, or may lead the child to abandon the drawing exercise altogether. If the only available activity for the child is drawing, such as, for example, when the child is riding in an automobile during a long trip, this boredom will be significant.
Third, a child often creates considerable clutter when drawing. Often, a supervising adult is forced to spend significant amounts of time cleaning up after a child has finished drawing. Moreover, when the child has drawn or painted on such items as furniture, the child may cause permanent damage to these items.
One potential solution to these problems is to provide the child with a stencil and a writing surface. Stencils, long known to the prior art, are thin sheets of cardboard, metal, or other rigid material cut through in such a way as to reproduce a design or ornament when color is rubbed through them onto an underlying writing surface. American College Dictionary 1184 (1957). By using a stencil, one may trace an image onto a writing surface quickly and with great accuracy. Moreover, because stencils are generally created by adults, the image so traced may be fairly complex. Thus, even a very young child may quickly obtain a neat, professionally created image on paper or other writing surface. This situation allows the child to feel a sense of accomplishment, without the child becoming bored or frustrated.
There are numerous drawbacks associated with conventionally known stencils, however. First, a user may only create one image at a time with these stencils; i.e., the user must remove the stencil after only one tracing. In order to create two or more images on a writing surface, the user must (a) place a first stencil onto the writing surface; (b) make a first stencil tracing; (c) remove the stencil; (d) rotate or otherwise adjust the writing surface so that a fresh portion of the surface is provided; (e) place a second stencil to the writing surface; and (f) make a second stencil tracing. These steps present a formidable challenge to a young child.
Second, when making a stencil tracing, the user must hold both the stencil and the writing surface steady, such that the stencil does not move in relation to the surface. If such movement occurs, the resulting tracing will be improper. However, because of the poor physical dexterity of young children, they often cannot hold the stencil and the writing surface firmly. Of course, it has long been known to position a stencil along the border of a straight edge or a T-square. Applying a slight pressure to the stencil will allow the user to prevent the stencil from shifting. Where the user is a young child, however, this may require coordination beyond the child's abilities.
Third, young children are notorious for misplacing their possessions, or leaving them in places where they may be damaged, such as on the floor. This situation is especially likely to occur when the child is given a number of stencils. Often, the child may scatter the stencils about the room, rather than stacking them neatly as an older child or adult would do. This frequently leads to the child losing one or more of the stencils, or leaving them in an inappropriate place.
All of these drawbacks detract from the appeal of providing a young child with a stencil and a writing surface.